US-led coalition air strike 'kills at least 10 Iraqi soldiers'

An officer and nine soldiers died or were wounded in the air strike

The US said they will investigate what happened 'to determine the facts' (Getty Images)

An air strike by the US-led coalition fighting Isis may have killed Iraqi soldiers, the US military has said.

At least 10 soldiers may have been killed or wounded during one of several air strikes the coalition conducted on Friday against Isis targets near the city of Fallujah, according to Iraqi officials.

US Defense Secretary Ash Carter said the air strike was "regrettable" while speaking to reporters on Saturday.

He said the air strike "has all the indications of being a mistake of the kind that can happen on a dynamic battlefield. These kinds of things happen when you're fighting side by side as we are."

Mr Carter said he had called Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi to express condolences.

A senior US defense official said fog in the area may have played a role in the incident. The official was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke anonymously.

An initial statement from the US military said: "Reports indicate the possibility one of the strikes resulted in the death of Iraqi soldiers."

The US said they will investigate what happened "to determine the facts" and has invited the Iraqis to participate.

The statement did not say how many soldiers may have died, however Iraq’s joint operations command said an officer and nine soldiers died or were wounded, AFP reports.

The US statement said the air strikes were in response to an Iraqi request for support on the ground near Fallujah, which is under Isis group control and were done in co-ordination with Iraqi forces.

Iraq’s joint operations command said the air strike, during close combat, caused casualties on both sides.

The US military said it was the first reported incident of so-called “friendly fire” involving the coalition during the course of Operation Inherent Resolve, which aims to drive Isis militants out of Anbar province.

"The strikes were accidental, not intentional. The forces were occupying positions close to those held by [Isis] in Naimiyah," a brigadier general from the area told AFP anonymously.

Asked if the deaths may further anger Iraqi citizens not content with the American and coalition presence in Iraq, Mr Carter said: "I hope Iraqis will understand that this is a reflection of things that happen in combat. But it's also a reflection of how closely we are working with the government" of Iraq.

Fallujah, 30 miles west of the Iraqi capital Baghdad, is Isis’ main stronghold in Anbar.

Iraqi forces, supported by daily coalition air strikes, are fighting jihadist militants in the province's capital Ramadi, further west.

The coalition has intensified its air campaign against the so-called Islamic State across Iraq in recent months.

It has destroyed or damaged 429 Islamic State targets during the week ended 14 December, according to its spokesman, The Wall Street Journal reports.

Additional reporting by various agencies